Majolica Majorca

As many of you remember, I went back to the Philippines, country of my birth, back in July. I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow nail blogger face-to-face for the very first time. I found it ironic that the circumstances of me meeting my first fellow nail blogger didn’t happen in the US, where I am now based. Pam of Polish Police was so easy to talk to. We just hit it off and talked about everything under the sun. She showed me where to get all the Asian brand polishes I was looking for. I wish I had more time to get to know her better. She’s just one of those kind of people you meet in your life, where time flies by when you’re with them. I’m glad I had that opportunity and for the fact that our friendship continued even after that. Recently, she flew into the US and I immediately asked for an address I can ship some goodies to her to. Her birthday just passed too, so I made sure I picked something out just for that as well. Before she left the Philippines, she asked me for a list of what I’ve been looking for. She apologized in her note to me that not everything in the box she sent over was from my list, but honestly….I didn’t care! She’s too sweet to even send me what she did! And she knows me well!

An assortment of Asian goodies in Pam's box to me

I took that picture in the middle of the night. I didn’t care at that time how the picture turned out. I was overcome with emotion when I saw the contents. The odd man out in the group is from Pam’s friend, Tatin. It’s a spray to neutralize any odors and for me, it would be for my hair after coming out from a Mexican or Chinese restaurant. My hair absorbs scent easily and Tatin mentioned that Tony Moly had such a product. I told her I’d take note of it for next time when I’m there to pick one up. She must’ve remembered our tweets about it and had Pam bring it over with whatever she has to send to me. She’s too sweet to remember that! The rest are various Asian brand polishes that Pam picked up for me, with love. She even got me Cutex polishes! I mean, I couldn’t get those here!!! And glitter?! Yes, she knows me well. :)

Pam, my friend, I can’t thank you enough for the lovely package you sent to me. I loved every single thing you sent in the package, whether or not it’s on my list. I hope she loved everything I sent her too. Just like her package to me, hers is sent from me with love. :) I’ve already started shopping for her (and Tatin!) in anticipation of the next time I’m able to send her a package, via mail or in person. ♥

This is the first of (I hope) many series on fellow bloggers that I have met in person. Popping my “meeting a fellow nail blogger” cherry is Polish Police.

As many of you know, I have just recently returned from my 3 week visit to my family in the Philippines. While it felt short, it was just enough time for me to actually enjoy being back at work (which is good thing). My blog’s first year mark hit when I was in the air, traveling back to the US. I wanted to do a giveaway for it and all, but I was strapped for time to plan for it. But it’s okay. After all, I had this delight when I was there during my stay….

Philippines Flavored Ice Cream

….and of course I had so many more other yummy things. That’s ice cream in 3 different flavors. My parents got a tub when we went to the grocery store some time during the first few days that I was there. The purple one is Ube, the pink one is Strawberry and the yellow one is Cheese. Haha, yes! You read that right! Cheese! There was a 4th flavor in the tub, Rocky Road, but it was gone by the time I took this shot. My favorite is Ube. It’s Purple Yam and it’s so damn good. I consume it alone or with coconut meat. *drool*

Aside from missing treats such as these there, I miss a fellow nail blogger and someone I’m proud to say I’ve become good friends with: Pam of Polish Police (or known as @turbochicken on Twitter). You can read her blog entry on our meeting here. Let me tell you, she is the ultimate shopping partner for nail polish in the Philippines. I will not recount what happened blow-by-blow since you can read it on her blog entry, but let’s just say we hit all the nail polish brand stores I wanted to see in a span of 2 hours.

And of course, we swapped some. :) The pictures aren’t the best when using flash, but here are the goodies she got me.

Etude House

The Face Shop

Tony Moly

Deborah Lippmann, Majolica Majorca & OPI

And I shopped more of course. Who knew that there were lots of Asian brand cosmetics in the Philippines?! I didn’t take pictures of those, but the lovely ladies I chat with on Twitter were impressed when I told them I lugged back about 200 bottles of nail polish. I was so nervous they’d be confiscated cause of some technicality or what not. They all made it safe though (no casualties!) and these beauties shown above were part of the close to 200 that I lugged back. In case you were wondering how I packed them, here’s what I did:

1) Grab a gallon sized clear resealable plastic bag. The thicker the plastic bag, the better.
2) Cut out a cardboard to the size close to the gallon sized plastic bag. I determined the size by stuffing a layer of polish in it first and seeing what width it should be. Length should not reach the resealable end, since you will need room for it to close properly and comfortably without the cardboard getting in the way.
3) Cut out smaller pieces of cardboard to act as a divider between glass surfaces that touch next to each other. Note that I am packing my polishes in one flat layer, kind of like how the pictures above this post of my swap are shown. This way, TSA and any other parties that need to inspect my luggage can see clearly the contents of the plastic bag.
4) Cut out long and thin pieces of cardboard about the size of the polish base to prevent glass bottoms from touching those in the next row.
5) Keep filling the plastic bag with polishes row by row until it is almost full. If there is enough room left for a polish to be placed horizontally, do it. This will make sure that the contents of the resealable plastic bag won’t move around.
6) Seal tightly. I also put a piece of clear tape over the bag and wrote “nail polish” on it. Just for my own peace of mind. :)
7) I packed them in between layers of towels and clothing. Make sure that there is enough in that piece of luggage prevent anything from moving around.

I will be featuring different brands and shades of polishes in the next few weeks. Some are from the swap I did and some are those that I have purchased when I met my fellow nail blogger and friend. She is one of the sweetest person I have ever met and I can’t wait to go back again and see her. We talked for hours over Filipino food during lunch and there were no awkward moments in our conversations at all! I am so glad that I have met her in my lifetime. I truly mean that. :)

I hope you guys stick around to see what these and the other polishes look like and fare!